Gollamari Steel Arch Bridge work in Khulna stalled by slow pace

Only 19 percent work of the Gollamari bridge has been completed although it was to be completed by March this year. UNB

Khulna, Feb 16 - The construction work of the long-awaited Gollamari Steel Arch Bridge over the Mayur River of Khulna is going on at a snail pace on several grounds, including disagreements between the implementing organisation and the contractor, and insufficiency of budget.

Investing Tk 67.66 crore , the Ministry of Road, Transport and Bridges started implementing the project under the supervision of Khulna Roads and Highways.

Though it was scheduled to be completed by March this year, only 19 percent of the work has been finished over the past 16 months.

Vehicles and commuters have to face immense suffering for use of a single lane on the Khulna-Chaknagar-Satkhira regional road over the river.

The disagreements between the contractor and the implementing agency Khulna Road and Highways Division, budget discrepancies and an unresolved extra 20% payment (around Tk 13-14 crore) for variation works were mainly blamed for the delay in the work.

Contractor farm National Development Engineers Limited predicted that it will take time to complete the work if the issue of additional 20% funding is not resolved.

Sources said the work order of the Gollamari Bridge was approved on October 1, 2023, with the physical work beginning on October 8 of the same year.

Due to delay, a new deadline was set till June 30 of the current year.

But, apparently it seems that it is quite impossible to end within the timeframe.

The lack of prior experience in constructing such a steel network arch bridge within the Road and Highways Department, and technical issues with the design were also attributed behind the delay.

Though the bridge's design is similar to that of Dhaka's Hatirjheel project, it incorporates several improvements and is technologically advanced.

Once completed, it will be the first steel network arch bridge under the Roads and Highways Department in Bangladesh.

Talking to UNB, Project Director Apurba Kumar Biswas said early design issues, such as insufficient piling for the bridge, delayed the project further.

In addition, unexpected work involving 12-meter seat piles added an additional Tk 2 crore in costs. The RHD has yet to decide whether these extra costs will be reimbursed.

The bridge, once completed, will be an iconic addition to Khulna. However, due to material costs, including steel, and the additional technical challenges, the project is expected to exceed the original contract value by Tk 13 to 14 crore, he said. - UNB